


The Big Event

by Merfilly



Category: DCU (Comics), Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-07
Updated: 2014-03-20
Packaged: 2018-01-14 21:59:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1280281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of the "game" that led to the JLA vs the Avengers, a new world was formed, with some of the beloved heroes (and rogues) from both sides. These are a few of the tales.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Every single one of these was written as a prompt response from someone on Livejournal. They are now collected, for the first time, in one place.

Dick swore as they put him into the holding cell, still trying to figure out how it could have gone so badly. He had just been trying to break up a gang fight, and when it was all said and done, he had wound up arrested right along with the gang members. At least they had not placed him in a cell with the others. This holding cell just had one other person, a man with a mop of brown hair lying in a brown long coat that had seen better days. Dick figured he must be some kind of oddity, because his pants and purple breastplate looked like a costume affair. When the door slammed shut, the scruffy looking man rolled to one side long enough to look and see who had joined him.

The newcomer to the holding cell was dressed in loose, high dollar slacks, a button up that was askew and undone at the collar, and fancy shoes that could have bought dinner for a family of fifty. The jewelry he wore was just as expensive, but the way he moved, they way his eyes were appraising everything… this new person was no pretty boy out on a lark. This wiry man with ripped muscles hidden under Prada clothing was one who knew the business end of a fist and foot.

"Name's Remy," the scruffy man said, sitting up. His thick, Cajun accent was difficult for the other man to puzzle through at first.

"Grayson." He tapped his forehead against the bars, thinking how stupid this all was. Since the Event, when the mightiest of two worlds had fought, and then cooperated, life had been full of adjustment in this world that had been spawned of the merging. His bank account as Richard Grayson had been intact; his contacts and 'family' had not. Like most people who had been extraordinary before the Event, he knew things had changed. Only the regular, ordinary people had been able to wake up thinking the world had always been this way.

"Captain America or de chap wit' blue pajamas and red cape?" Remy asked him, confirming the sense of him being a meta of some kind.

"His name is Superman."

"Dat's assumin' dey still exist," the Cajun said with a pessimistic grin. "Tried t' 'elp out, did you?" He pointed to the bruises on Grayson's face.

"Yeah; you?"

"A bit less savory," he replied with a chuckle. "Took a piss off de bridge, just as a pig was eating 'is donut under it." His laugh brought a smile to Dick's face, even if he should have taken offense about the pig comment. 

"Before the Event, what were you?" Dick went and sat down on the small bench along the wall.

"A t'ief," the ruffian said, with unabashed pride.

"A thief?" Grayson looked amused. "And your other job?"

Remy chuckled at him. "An X-Man, some days." He raised an eyebrow at Grayson in inquiry.

"Cop." Grayson smiled. "Or 'pig' if you prefer." That got a full fledged laugh from his co-inmate. "Otherwise… pretty much the same thing, from the shadows." Remy nodded knowingly.

"De cops, dey don't like us dat try to 'elp." Remy nodded toward the door. "Dey gonna lose our file, for a while, so dey can 'ave dere fun wit' us."

"Hence us being separated from the riff raff I came in with." Dick rolled his eyes. "I remember this from Gotham." He began checking the ways to get out of the cell. "I've kept hoping that I'd find a way…"

"Me too, mon ami." Remy shook his head. "What ah'd give t' 'ave Bishop in mah face now," he murmured.

"Boyfriend?" Dick could not resist the tease, but was quite unprepared for the smoldering look in his direction, that stripped him, seduced him, and left him wanting more.

"Not really mah type, but present company…" Remy actually licked his lips, and Dick had to look down, flushed, from those too black eyes. The soft chuckle that followed did not offend Dick at all, as he looked at the door again. As he did, he saw a familiar face, and almost breathed a sigh of relief.

"KATE!" Dick walked over to the door as the lawyer smiled at him. "God, am I glad to see you."

"Calm down, Dick," she said, with a smile. "Got your bail posted as soon as my service forwarded the call."

Dick glanced at the other occupant, and decided to trust his gut reaction. "Can you cut a check for scruffy over there? I think I'd like to talk to him more about the Event."

"Gotcha, Boy Wonder," the lawyer said with a smirk. "Be right back with two get out of jail free cards."

`~`~`~`~`

Kate Spencer had gotten them out of jail, and then driven them to Dick's apartment. Remy was going along with it now, because he had a hunch that if anything could be done, this rich boy had the connections to make it work. And, maybe, once the lady left, he might see just why the pretty boy had blushed so brightly.

As accustomed to being in charge as Dick was, he was unprepared for the random whims that could strike Remy LeBeau. As much as Remy wanted to learn more about what Dick could tell him, he had been more distracted by the sight of Dick's firm abs under the shirt when the young man had stretched fitfully. With cat-like grace, Remy moved into Dick's space, reaching out to touch his neck.

"So, does a rich kid like you 'ave rules about bad boy like me?" he teased in a low, seductive purr. For answer, Dick stepped right into the other man, claiming his lips brutally hard. Talk of fixing their worlds would have to wait as he took control from the instant their tongues began to twine. His hand moved up under the long coat, feeling the hard smoothness of the breast plate.

"One rule," Dick said, breaking the kiss. 

"And?"

"You need out of those clothes," Dick finished, smiling rakishly.

* * *

"Toss me that!" The man in blue and black pointed at the piece of wood on the ground as the very plain, everyday guy came by, looking very jumpy and skittish. The young man reacted before he even thought about it, tossing the bit over to the costumed man, and then watching as he hurled it with fair accuracy. The target, it turned out, was a purse-snatcher some distance away. The chunk of wood connected, the man went down, and then the costumed hero was on him, making sure he was not going anywhere. The helpful man watched, shaking his head at how easy the vigilante called Nightwing made it.

`~`~`~`~`

Living in this New York was odd, Dick thought, as the wall crawling Spiderman seemed to move in his own symphony of chaos, trying to catch and contain the dozens of fear bombs being dropped by Scarecrow from a Goblin Glider. He itched to slip away, to shed the Prada and move freely in his costume, but Dick had to admit the red and blue hero had panache as he dealt with one of Arkhams' favorite sons. 

`~`~`~`~`

"I've got you!" came the voice and the meaning just after Nightwing was caught up in strong arms. If the mask had allowed a view of a human face, he was pretty sure there would be an embarrassed flush, from the next words. "Oh, it's you… sorry, still not used to sharing the city."

"You saved me a line." Nightwing could not help but do a mental appraisal of the body against his, as Spiderman swung them toward a rooftop. The body was nowhere near that of his Titan friends and lovers… it felt more like Green Lantern, with strength rippled through a wirier build. 

"Next time I see someone fling themselves off into freefall, I'll try to look for the blue," Spiderman quipped, as they landed. Nightwing liked the sound of that teasing voice, liked the way his would-be rescuer seemed to accept himself even with mistakes like this.

"I don't think I'd mind being rescued in the future," Nightwing drawled, making sure the flat of his hand passed over Spiderman's neck as he released the web slinger. He was very pleased as that touch let him feel the minute shiver his voice, dripping with invitation, sent through the man.

"Maybe, maybe our paths will cross again," Spiderman told him before flinging himself back into his cross-city patrol, disturbed and fascinated by this other world hero.

`~`~`~`~`

"We've got to stop meeting like this." Nightwing felt Spiderman at his back, as odd, alien looking creatures surrounded them. They looked vaguely like something out of a Ridley Scott movie, Nightwing decided, and the feel of another hero reassured him.

"If we get out, the other side of this Brood… you're buying the pizza." Spiderman's off chance remark made Nightwing remember many, many nights after patrol at a small pizza joint near the Tower, and it brought a warm feeling of nostalgia.

"You're on." The pair moved almost as one into action, and turned the overwhelming odds into a messy pile of aliens in record time. Nightwing found one small problem with their plans, and Spiderman must have noted it too.

"I don't know a pizza place in town that will let us in the door like this," he quipped, arms raised as goo and ichor dripped from his costume.

"My place is close…" Nightwing said, and he just could not help the note of adrenaline-laced lust in his voice. Spiderman's jaw did not necessarily drop under the mask, but Nightwing was pretty sure he had caught him off-guard.

"Know anyone that delivers?" he answered, half a heartbeat later.

"Yeah… I think I can handle that." The man in blue and black raised his grapple gun, and prepared to fire. 

"Let's save a line," the web slinger purred, catching his new 'friend' up and taking to the skies, web-style.

`~`~`~`~`

"Radioactive spider bite. You?"

"Parents murdered right in front of me, after I tried to warn them."

"Oh..."

"It's okay. I work through it. My turn. Costumes?"

"Mostly this one. A few variations. Including one that turned out to be sentient and tried to control me before going really murderous."

"And here all I had to deal with was people staring at my legs or my chest... or my butt."

"It's a cute one."

"I get that a lot."

"I bet you do. Nicknames?"

"Too many to list. Boy Wonder, Former Boy Wonder, Tightwing..."

"That butt thing again?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Scarlet Spider, Webslinger, Spidey..."

`~`~`~`~`

"Keep feeling like I lost something that was part of my soul," Nightwing said, casually, as he waited up on the roof, next to the webslinger. "Ever since I got trapped in this world."

"Yeah, I get that." Spiderman looked over the city. "But you're letting it make you careless."

Nightwing looked at him, then smiled slowly. "B would have found a way to sound all stern while he did the intervention, you know."

"I don't do stern. Heck, I hardly do serious."

They both laughed, and then it was into the night to be who they were, any world.

`~`~`~`~`

There was no sound behind him, but Spiderman knew who was there even before he heard Nightwing's voice saying, "I need your help." 

Spiderman turned, and saw that his friend was...not entirely free, as he had Black Cat of all people in his arms, unconscious.

"Ummm...why are you carrying Black Cat?" was the only rejoinder Spiderman had.

"Well, she kept telling me how parts of my body and my suit were so much cuter than yours, so I assumed you two have a thing," Nightwing said.

"Why's she unconscious, and why does it matter that she and I had...I mean, might have had, theoretically, possibly, a thing?"

"Because I think Poison Ivy is here, or else you guys have an evil master of plants that can kick out sex-pollen. I don't have any antidote...." Nightwing flushed a little under the mask. "There's only one real cure..."

Spiderman was so thankful for his full mask, as he turned beat-red.

"So this antidote? Think you can whip some up with a decent lab?" was Spidey's witty rejoinder.

* * *

She was passion and magic and all the parts of home he would have tried to avoid in the past. No one in their right minds, and most that weren't, crossed an honest to god voudon with the Power.

He was the sort she knew better than to trust, made even more so by the touch of the gods in his odd black eyes, marking him as favorite to Death, perhaps even Baron Samedi. That trick with the cards went to prove the destructive capability he had.

Neither of them let that stop them from fighting back to back, her Emperor Stick and his bo staff proving quite effective in tandem. When the last of the Brood infected H.I.V.E. soldiers were down, they turned wary eyes to one another. 

"Empress, mon." She made the first move toward a wary alliance, seeing the 'enemy of my enemy' as a worthwhile philosophy in this world.

"Gambit, chere." 

"Long way from de Big Easy," she commented, still on guard. She could pick out the subtle marks of a thief, guilded at that.

"Dat it is, chere," he agreed. His eyes took in the way her stick stayed ready, much as he kept his bo casually at his side, ready for anything.

"More t'ings like dose 'round here?" she asked.

"Lot's o' odd t'ings since de Big Event." He idly flipped a card through his fingers. "Know anyone in town, chere?"

"Rumors," she admitted, sliding back to a confident, almost arrogant pose.

"Could take you," he mused. "Done met a few o' dem."

"Wot's in it for you, den?" She flicked her dark hair back from her face, watching as he slid into a leaning pose on the bo staff.

"Tell ya, chere…you lift dat mask, give ol' Gambit a kiss, and we call it even," the rogue thief said.

"Y' expect me t' believe de word o' a t'ief?" she asked, laughing sharply. 

"Big damn city," Gambit pointed out, lazy smile on his lips. "One little kiss, wot could it 'urt?"

"You, if dis be a trick, Gambit," she said, slipping her mask free, revealing perfect skin begging for a kiss.

"Belle," he purred, moving closer to claim the promised kiss. He didn't move fast enough, as she snatched the front of his coat and pulled him closer, paying the kiss with the fiery determination of a true woman of New Orleans. He felt his entire body pulse with the pull of desire as she broke away, a full twenty seconds later, her eyes smiling even if her lips weren't.

"Lead on," she said, settling the mask back in place.

"For you, ma cherie, Gambit'd lead an army into 'ell."

* * *

His ears were still ringing, from the sonic barrage that would have made Siryn and Banshee both envious. However, when the slender hand reached down to him, he found himself too distracted to immediately accept the hand-up from the petite beauty responsible.

"Saw you in a bit of trouble," she told him. "Hope you don't mind."

"Chere, if all angels were as beautiful as you, Gambit would be in church each Sunday," he said in turn, taking the extended hand. From the solid way she handled pulling him up, he knew she was not a woman to be trifled with. 

"You have a silver tongue…and that usually means trouble," she told him. "They call me Black Canary."

"Call me Gambit, and at your service," he replied, coyly noting the way she responded to the gallantry of his flourish and bow. This hunt would prove interesting as he decided to stay by her side.

* * *

There had been a long process of getting adjusted, of picking up pieces, finding the bits of his network still intact.

Hell, he had found more of Addie's people than his own, in some form of a cosmic joke on his head.

That might have had something to do with the whole problem of being in Germany when it hit. He had rolled with the punches though, used his knowledge of the way she had worked, of the way Pat managed things to get himself set back up. It took money to accomplish things, and he did not yet know which way to run with this, so work became his focus.

Which had led to his current predicament, two hand guns in use, exchanging shots with a woman all in blindingly silver armor.

With white hair.

It struck him as a reminder of his daughter's potential, reminded him that this amalgamated world was very much a prison from which he needed to escape, before he lost more of his limited time with her.

This woman, though, was proving good enough to keep him pinned down, and he had a sneaking suspicion she had reinforcements to call on. This one was going to call for quick wits, and a lot of speed, to get on top of the situation.

Fortunately he had both.

A grenade in one direction, a feint in the other, and then he moved toward the grenades after effects, going through the dazzle and smoke to get to her while she thought he was coming the other way.

Which led to him, her, and a Mexican standoff with two small handguns between them.

He stared down the barrel, into her face, and a smile slowly crossed his lips. This one was a killer, he knew, unlike the last woman to try this trick. This one had the smart, hard look to her eyes that reminded him why he had never really tried that hard all the times Addie had gotten this close to killing him.

"You're smiling. This is not a typical reaction to a gun in the face," she said in German, her accent not too thick.

"I'm not a typical man, honey." The man twitched his gun in a questioning gesture. "Enough profit here to split, sister. Why don't we come to some sort of arrangement?"

"What are you offering?" She had weighed his measure, knew she was facing a man that was possibly her superior, and she did not have back up that was close enough.

"Split the fee, and walk away, making half the profit…or split the fee with you and me making a go at working this screwed up world together." His one blue eye was hidden behind the mask, but he could see hers, see her thinking quick. His gamble that she knew the change had happened paid off. She was chewing over his offer, and it did not take long for her to nod.

"Deal." They both holstered in the same moment, a show of both skill and body language reading.

"So let's see just what two damn good mercs can do with this place," he said, amused at the rapid change from having no one, to a dangerous but beautiful ally.

`~`~`~`~`

Sandman had to look away, even though the pair weren't doing more than speaking. She had one of her smaller, high-powered rifles out, showing it to the interloper, who listened intently to what she had to say.

The watching man clenched a fist when the man accepted the weapon; it was one more sign that he had been accepted by Sable. This brightly clad, dangerously quiet mercenary with his dry wit was a fixture in the Pack.

And Sable desired him. Sandman could see it as clear as day, in every move the pair made as they sparred, the exchange of information, all of it.

Sandman finally looked away, not wanting to find any confirmation that the stranger returned that desire.

* * *

As confusing as it had been for so many of the heroes, and rogues, that were steadily assembling in New York, no one had as much of a reason to complain as the ladies of the world that had been defined by Superman.

Black Canary sat back and found the humor in the situation as Gypsy, Vixen, Fire, and Crimson Fox all arrived with the same man.

As each of the men looked at one another, one of the other men, from the Captain America universe, started shaking his head, laughing. She remembered his name was Forge, and he had struck up a fast friendship with Ted Kord on meeting.

"Trust you, Jamie, to find all the beautiful women for yourself!" Forge called.

* * *

As the various people came together, and it was quickly realized that both Gambit and Nightwing had unique ways of making friends, there was some embarrassment. Not on either of their parts, but definitely on the part of the various people they had each slept with.

When Roy finally filtered in, having been in Arizona when the first meetings started, both Dick and Remy turned interesting colors and tried make themselves scarce. Roy was at a loss, knowing what he had done… until it dawned on him they were just as lost in their mutual attraction to him. Then he knew.

* * *

Central Park was short a few muggers the night the two archers met up there. Both had been searching for answers to why they were cut off from their regular teammates, trying to learn if any progress had been made in separating this pocket dimension back out to the two universes that had given birth to it. Getting jumped by wanna-be muggers had probably been the worst mistake said muggers could have made, as the girls fell instinctively into a back-to-back formation. Bows twanged in unison and counterpoint several times, until the gang was taken down, and left for hostile police to find.

It didn't take long for them to size each other up. They both missed the new families forged, but sensed kindred spirits in one another. Having acted in concert, they had retreated to the lowest roof of the nearby buildings, where Mia carefully tended her cuts and inspected the bruises for how severe they were.

"Need help?" Kate asked her, after sorting the retrieved arrows into hers and the other girl's. She noted that a lot of the arrows the girl carried were compartmentalized, with gadgets that had expended their usefulness, and she wondered if they could be salvaged.

"You probably wouldn't want to," Mia said. "I'm positive."

That made the girl from Captain America's universe glance over at her with a puzzled look, until it sank in. "Oh. And you still..."

"I will until I can't," Mia told the girl grimly.

"Why? Wouldn't you live longer if you didn't?" Kate asked rather bluntly.

Mia sat back, satisfied she wasn't bruising deep enough to be overly concerned, and set about sorting her arrows into their spots in her quiver. The gadget arrows had their heads removed, and new ones placed on the shafts. The spent heads went into a deep pouch, for if and when Mia got a chance to fix them back up properly. "What kind of living is it to be ignoring what you can do to make sure other kids don't screw up as bad as you did?"

Kate didn't have an immediate answer for that. So many people had hounded her over her involvement with the Young Avengers, when she wasn't even connected the way the rest of them were. "Just so you know... I'm not afraid of it. You get hurt, I will help," she said, ignoring the way Mia's question had unsettled everything she thought she was doing this for.

Mia grunted, not really believing it. The Titans would have, in a heartbeat. But this was a stranger. Even if she did sling the bow almost as good as an Arrow, she was still 'not family'. "Okay, it's pretty obvious I'm doing this to pay back for my stupidity. What about you?"

Kate wanted to tell her to ask anything else, to find some way to turn it aside. She looked over at the blonde archer, a glib retort or an angry snap warring on her tongue.

"To never be a victim again, and keep the rest safe," she told her instead, as close to any truth as Kate had ever sorted out for herself.

Mia eyed the expression behind that honesty, and held her hand out slowly. "They call me Speedy."

Kate laughed softly. "And you are. I'm Hawkeye."

Mia smiled. "You've sure got one." She then noted the rest of the arsenal Kate had with her. "Sword, sticks, and bow...Connor'd love to meet you, I'm sure."

"Who's that?" Kate touched each of her weapons, making sure she was ready for anything.

"My brother, sort of. I got kind of adopted by Green Arrow, and Connor's the second one, son of the first... great martial artist with every thing."

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "I got jumped... down there. Decided I needed to be able to fight back, once I got over it." She tried not to dwell on the aftermath of being jumped. She didn't want to remember the helplessness. 

To her shock, Mia reached over, touching the back of her hand. "Hey... they can't hurt you now, or ever again, I bet," she said, her voice too knowing of what might have happened.

Kate looked up to the stars, then back to her friend.

"Neither of us?" she asked.

"Got that right," Mia affirmed, before she stood. She offered Kate a hand. "C'mon... whole city of scum waiting to be cleaned up."

"Guess we better get busy, before the cops decide to keep all the fun," Kate answered with a laugh that actually sounded and felt free.

Three solid hours of patrolling, dodging the cops who were cracking down hard on vigilantes, and watching each other's backs gave both girls a feel for each other. Kate had a place; Mia didn't, having only just managed to hitch hike all the way to New York from L.A. Apparently that was where Star City was supposed to be in this mixed up version of a world.

The girls got in, and Mia saw to eating a small meal so she could take her meds. Kate watched the semi-ritual, and her curiosity flared.

"How?"

Mia drew in a long, deep breath as she knew just what story Kate was probing for. She thought is was only fair to share her part.

"Runaway. Found a guy, but he decided pimping me out was a good idea. So either from that, or the drugs that made me get by." Mia swallowed hard, remembering that fateful night Oliver Queen had intruded on the john and her. "G. A. saved me... stopped a party. I don't know... took courage from it, from what he offered, and got myself out of the life. Turned up positive about the same time I took up the Speedy role."

"Role?"

"Yeah... he had a sidekick once before named Speedy." Mia laughed, but it was edged and bitter. "He had a run-in with drugs too. So it's a thing, that Speedys are screwed up goods."

Kate shook her head at that with a violent negation. "Screwed up once, maybe. But sure as hell not now."

Mia and Kate shared a long look, one that said more than just acceptance of each other, understanding of their pasts.

"Should get some sleep if we're going to try and find that place Copperhead was muttering about," Mia said then.

"Yeah." Kate hit the lights, and both settled to rest, well aware that neither one was alone this time when sleep came.


	2. Kid Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick and Slade catch up with each other.

Dick finally managed to get disentangled from Roy and Remy to look around and see how everyone else was coping. He nodded to some of the ones he knew… and froze as he saw Slade _laughing_ with a woman who looked as fearsome as Slade himself.

To say his guts knotted up was an understatement, and he felt like he was a kid all over again, watching Selina distract Bruce from him.

As if Slade knew he was being stared at, the man's head came up, smile still on his lips… and now Dick's heart started hammering, as the big man excused himself from his companion to walk toward them.

Rather than let Slade get too close to Roy, Dick broke away and headed that way, waving once at Spidey, who was idly watching everyone… from up in the rafters.

"Hey," Dick said, feeling a little unsure of himself. That smile, that laugh — it hurt in one way, but if Slade had found a way to move past his wife, maybe it wasn't so bad.

"Shoulda known you'd be part of this, Kid," Slade said, his smile sliding to his cocky smirk.

"Not my fault," Dick automatically said.

"No, but you do wind up in the middle of the most _interesting_ messes," Slade countered, with just enough of a slide of his eye toward Roy and Remy to make Dick almost flush.

"You landed on your feet," Dick said to divert attention away from that. 

Slade gave a snort. "Business is business, and she had some nice assets to throw out there," Slade told him smoothly. Dick tried hard not to crack up, then gave in and laughed anyway.

"You are something else," he said once he could get past the mirth.

"Always, Kid," Slade answered.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Arachnophilia](https://archiveofourown.org/works/787498) by [glymr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/glymr/pseuds/glymr)




End file.
